


A Matter of Family

by NathanielCardeu



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:06:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21652708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NathanielCardeu/pseuds/NathanielCardeu
Summary: Hermione tries to help Theo find his Christmas spirit.Loosely inspired by the movie 'Elf'.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Theodore Nott
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20
Collections: Hermione's Holiday Hideaway 2019





	A Matter of Family

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Hermione's Holiday Hideaway 2019.
> 
> Thank you for letting me participate, and I'm sorry I almost let you down!

"You should have _asked_ me-"

"Theo…"

"-but no! You know best, of course."

"I didn't do it to hurt you, I did it to help!"

"And what if I don't want to meet them? What if I had decided to let sleeping dogs lie and let the past just die?"

He stalked across the small hotel room, ignoring the beautiful décor he had commented on when they had first arrived, not even seeing the sun-drenched town outside their window. It was strange to be so warm and comfortable in the middle of December, to have thrown off layers and be dressed only in their lightest clothes; admittedly it was only into the high teens, maybe a little over twenty around noon, but that was ten times hotter than England was right now! Theo was wearing Muggle clothes for once, as many of the locals did, wizard and Muggle alike. She had to admit, he did look good in shorts.

She shook her head to refocus her wandering mind. "You were miserable. Both when you were alone, and again when you… found out..."

"So tracking them down and dragging me out here on a pretence is the best way to fix that, right?"

"This isn't a game for me, Theo, I'm taking this really seriously and gave it a lot of thought-"

"Not enough!"

"Your parents-"

"My parents are _dead_ , Hermione."

* * *

"This reminds me of clearing out Sirius's place when we first joined the Order," Hermione said with a delicate shudder as she lifted blankets and richly decorated pillows from an ornate chest in the basement of Theo’s family home. There was a musty smell that pervaded the lofty cellar and some of it seemed to emanate from this box.

"Well, there shouldn't be a row of dead elf heads on spikes here, at least." Theo paused in his rummaging through a dusty desk drawer, feigning fear. "At least, I hope not!"

"Stop it," she said with a laugh, "that's not even remotely funny!"

“And yet, she laughs.”

“Black comedy always raises a smile,” she said, gingerly lifting another blanket, dreading what she would find at the bottom. “It’s something we British are famous for.”

“Yes,” Theo said distractedly, “we do enjoy a dark joke occasionally.”

His voice trailed off and she turned to see what was wrong. He was standing by the desk, staring at the papers in his hand. “Theo?”

Without a word, he held out the documents. She crossed the room, suddenly nervous. "Oh, Theo…" she moaned as she read the devastating words, set down on letter after letter in the delicate flowing handwriting.

* * *

  
**Now…**

“I don't know these people at all."

"And this is your chance to meet them. To get to know them." She stood and crossed the room to his side, taking his hands in hers and shaking away the memory of six months ago. "You don't have to accept them straight away. No one would expect that, and I'm sure they will understand your reticence. It's a lot to take in."

He sighed but didn't relax. She could still feel the tension in him, the stiffness of his fingers as she held them.

"I thought we were going on holiday," he said quietly, "just us. Getting away from work, and the stresses of life…"

"This wasn't supposed to be an ambush, I promise you, love." Hermione cupped his cheek and kissed him softly. "They don't know we're here yet."

He frowned. "You didn't tell them?"

"Of course not. I didn't want to have them barge in and surprise you! I planned to tell you about them living here after a few days, a week maybe. I wanted us to just enjoy Pollensa, visit the rest of Majorca too, maybe. Watch the Christmas festival. Have the holiday as it was meant to be first. Then, when you had some of your Christmas cheer back…" She grinned at his sheepish expression.

"Yeah, alright, I know I've been a bit of a killjoy recently."

"Then I would have introduced the idea to you."

She smiled happily as he pulled her into his arms and held her close. "I know I've been a bit of Scrooge since father died, focused on work," he said softly. "You've been very patient with me."

"Pretty sure you're on Santa's Naughty List," she murmured into his shoulder and a huff of laughter ruffled her hair.

"Distinct possibility," he said, "but I really wish you had told me about this first. You must have known I would be upset."

She nodded, pulling back to look him in the eyes. "I do. I also know, however, that you prefer a plaster be pulled off quickly, rather than the pain being drawn out."

"What's a plaster?"

She waved a hand. "Muggle expression. It's like a small adhesive bandage to cover a wound. They can hurt when you pull them off and it's sometimes better to do it quickly." She looked at him seriously for a moment. "Are you really angry at me?"

He sighed, the corner of his mouth lifting a tiny bit. "No, I suppose not. It was just a shock. How did you even find them?"

Hermione moved away with a mysterious smile. "I have my sources. I _am_ the Head of International Magical Cooperation these days, don't you know?"

"So you set your little spies to work?"

She laughed at that. "Something like that, yes. I called in a favour to get some up to date census data on wizarding families living overseas that have a connection to the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

"And they found these two?"

"There's more than two, darling." Hermione closed her eyes, hoping that he wasn't going to explode again; he was still delicate about everything. "The family is quite large."

"How large?"

"Well, there are two cousins and their families. One grandparent, and a great uncle, though apparently he's a bit… strange…"

Theo snorted. "No more than my…" He cut off abruptly.

"There's about twenty in all," she said, trying to divert his mind again.

"Including...?"

"Yes, including them."

* * *

**Eight days later** **…**

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I just can't get it out of my head."

"I know, love," she said, resting a head on his shoulder as the parade marched by, lights sparkling in the night. The tree in the square was huge, filled with lights and decorations. It lit up the night sky and the music from the carnival surrounded them and swept them up in the magic of Christmas. _Most of us_ , she thought with a sigh.

"I wonder if they are here tonight."

She looked up at him. His voice sounded casual, but there was a look in his eyes that seemed hopeful.

Linking arms with him, they turned to follow the parade through the streets, Hermione quietly humming along to the song; it was Jingle Bells, clearly, but sung in Spanish and she didn't trust her rudimentary knowledge much more than raising her voice to sing 'Navidad, Navidad' a little louder. Theo grinned at her and she stuck her tongue out at his affectionate mockery.

"A wonderful parade again this year," said a heavily accented voice to Theo's left.

Theo looked up and his breath caught in his throat as he saw the man's profile. He didn't need the feel of Hermione's grip tightening on his arm to know. "Yes," he managed slowly, his voice a little ragged, "it's really quite beautiful here."

"Nice to meet you, young man," said the tall, dark-haired man with Theo's nose, his cheekbones, even the lines around his eyes spoke of Theo in another twenty years or so. "My wife is around somewhere if you would like to meet her. Of course, no pressure, but I thought a public place might be a little easier? I know how unnerving it must be to meet a… relative stranger." He gave a smile at his little pun.

Theo looked over at Hermione who had tears in her eyes, and smiled, leaning over to kiss her softly on the lips. Turning to the man, he said, "I think I would like that very much." Unlinking his arm from Hermione he held out his hand. "Theodore Nott, at your service."

The man took his hand, holding it firmly. It shook ever so slightly, and Theo could see a hint of tears standing in the dark eyes; eyes that looked so much like his own.

"Thadius. Thadius Nott, at yours and your young lady's."

"I have… questions," Theo said.

"Of course you do, my boy…" Thadius caught himself and grimaced. "Sorry… far too soon, I'm sure."

Theo smiled, his heart pounding. "It's okay," he said, already comforted by the man's demeanour. It was so different from the man that had raised him, that had pretended to be his father. That man had blackmailed Thadius, taken his child as a baby, and spirited him away to England. The letters Theo had found had made it clear that Thadius and his wife had tried to find him, but Theo's father (for the want of a better word) had kept him hidden. Now though, they all had a chance to start again.

It was a miracle really, Theo mused as he clapped a hand onto his real father's shoulder and pulled the love of his life, the woman who had made this possible, closer to him. A real Christmas miracle.

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> Original prompt;
> 
> Pairing: Theo/Hermione  
> Location: Pollensa, Majorca  
> Movie prompt: Elf
> 
> I'll admit, the connection to the movie is a bit vague so it is 'loosely' inspired by the movie: there's an adopted child, a grumpy person in need of Christmas cheer, and a bit of a Christmas miracle. Like I said, it's very loose haha
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little story, and Merry Christmas x


End file.
